Reston, VA, September 01, 2011 --(PR.com)-- AppAssure Software, a leading developer of innovative backup and disaster recovery software products for mission-critical Windows application servers, today announced that Maritime Paper Products (MPP), a privately-owned corrugated packaging business in Canada, switched to AppAssure’s award-winning Replay 4 backup and recovery solution for its critical applications running on SQL and a virtual environment for disaster recovery. With Replay 4, MPP is reported to keep their data safe without productivity interruption, while performing reliable P2V/V2V snapshot conversions and export to virtual machines for migrations and testing.

“We serve the local region, overseas, the Caribbean, and the U.S. markets,” says Rob MacCara, System Administrator at MPP. “We have four locations all centrally managed from our main plant in Nova Scotia. We’ve a long-term, very loyal work force, with more than 140 past and present employees that have been with us for more than 25 years. MPP is a great place to work!”

MPP’s success throughout the years has been dependent not only on its committed staff, but also on the forward-thinking automation and technology that supports the team’s work, says MacCara. With modern corrugating and converting machines creating over 20,000 boxes an hour, networked locations throughout the Atlantic Provinces, critical applications running on SQL, and a virtual environment for disaster recovery, MPP depends on both its people and its superior technology to get its work done.

Which is why MPP switched from Backup Exec to Replay 4, MacCara notes.

“Prior to Replay our backup procedure involved Backup Exec, rotating tapes and full backups to removable disks,” explains MacCara. “When we had major failures, it meant building everything from scratch, updating the OS and installing software and then crossing our fingers as we restored from disk & tape.”

As the costs for an increasingly-unworkable process kept rising, so did the “frustration meter,” as MacCara calls it. “We knew we were not safely backed up, and in the event of a catastrophe, we would be in trouble,” he explains. “This had been growing over the years so that by the time we went with virtualization, our existing backup software wasn’t up to the task. We’d either have to pay for an expensive upgrade, or have greatly reduced backup capability. It all came to a head that we couldn’t ignore any more. That’s when we found Replay, and it’s been like night and day.”

MacCara says he knew they were in a different world with Replay. MPP has seen over 300GB of data reduced to just 15GB – a 95% storage space savings. “Of course, it’s difficult to compare storage savings from our old method to Replay’s, as we were never able to back up entire servers—data only,” notes MacCara. “We now are backing up a total of 10 servers ranging from SQL, BES, Terminal servers, Domain Controllers, file and application servers, and of course our Replay servers, easily and quickly.”

According to MacCara, one of the key requirements that MPP had as they sought out an advanced backup and disaster recovery solution, was the ability to back up to both virtual and physical servers, and then be able to restore either back to physical or to a VM. “Our Disaster Recovery project was already in the early planning stages,” explains MacCara, “and our solution would be playing an important role (once implemented) by replicating to the DR site. Replay was the only one that was able to fit into our mixed environment and handle all our requirements.”

Depending on the season, a server failure for a box manufacturing company could mean a plant shutdown, work stoppages, remote plant closures, and more. “If a disaster were to happen in the middle of summer when our beer and vegetable boxes are made around the clock,” says MacCara, “this would have a huge impact. We run 24/7 and three shifts during that time, so the peace of mind that Replay gives us for the replicated servers is priceless.”

“The single biggest factor with Replay is that our data is safe and being continually backed up,” sums up MacCara. “We know that if we need to restore a single file, email, or server, it can be done quickly and without any hassle. I’m actively involved in Spiceworks and other technology forums, and I tell people that I couldn’t be happier with how Replay has made my job simpler.”

About Maritime Paper Products

A privately-owned corrugated packaging business located on the east coast of Canada, Maritime Paper Products has served the local and world market for 80 years.

About AppAssure Replay 4

Replay 4 is the world’s fastest and easiest backup and disaster recovery software for Windows application servers, VMware and Hyper-V Virtual Servers. The only complete “all-in-one” backup and recovery solution, Replay 4 enables local recoveries from any type of failure in just minutes, with the added assurance of offsite application and image backup and bare metal recovery from a total site disaster.